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Mar 15, 2010
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Day care ordered to close after 1-year-old drowns

Authorities ordered a North Las Vegas day care to temporarily cease operations after a 1-year-old boy drowned in a backyard pool Tuesday afternoon.

North Las Vegas police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said the 1-year-old and a 3-year-old boy fell into the pool about 3:15 p.m. The 1-year-old boy was unresponsive when emergency responders arrived, Coon said.


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  • The boys, who were not related, were taken to University Medical Center where the 1-year-old was pronounced dead.

    The 3-year-old was in good condition late Tuesday afternoon, Coon said. The names of the children were not released.

    The boys were staying at Marisela’s Family Day Care, a licensed facility in a single-story home at 4731 Gunlock Circle, near Lone Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard.

    According to the Web site of the Nevada Bureau of Services for Child Care, the facility was licensed as of December and is owned and operated by Marisela Carvajal. It serves up to six children from birth to 12 years of age, according to the bureau’s Web site.

    Authorities ordered the facility to close Tuesday pending the outcome of a criminal investigation, Coon said.

    Coon wouldn’t say whether the backyard pool was fenced in or not.

    A neighbor who lives on the street behind the home said he has often heard loud music coming from the home at night.

    “There are parties there all the time,” 43-year-old Dave Oberg said. “It’s a party house.”

    Sixteen-year-old Chad Wright, who lives nearby and said he rides his bicycle past the house several times a day, said he’s also heard loud music coming from the home. During the day, he said the house is quiet and he has never seen children there.

    Neither recalled seeing police at the home before.

     

    Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.

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    Report abuse

    krystal wrote on January 18, 2009 06:45 PM: THIS REALLY MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL HOW DOES SOMEONE ALLOW THESE BABIES TO WALK OUTSIDE IN THE BACKYARD WITH A POOL THIS LADY SHOULD BE IN JAIL...


    Report abuse

    Edward wrote on January 16, 2009 06:19 PM: You can have the high fence and locks and alarms but it does no good when the locks are not locked, when the alarm is off. It passed inspection before cause the owners made sure that the safety devices were on. On this terrible day, they did not have the safety devices on and the kids were able to walk out undetected. You can have all the alarms you want in your home, but someone can still break in and rape and kill you if you do not have the alarm on. The owners did a dog and pony show for the inspectors but failed the kids. Maybe they should have failed the inspection and closed down and saved the kids in the long run.


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    Tiff wrote on January 15, 2009 07:40 PM: Who was watching the kids; if they had time to get to the pool and then fall in... when I babysit for someone I do not let them out of my sight because as soon as you turn your head..it could be too late.


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    Dan wrote on January 15, 2009 05:22 PM: Any type of day care center that has a pool in it should have a tall fence surrounding the pool with a locked gate, child proof locks on the back and front door out of thier reach and some type of alarm system. To me that just makes sense. Doesn't thier house have these things? Why did they okay the house for this type of business without them having the proper precautions put into place for that type of potential incident?

    I was raised in a daycare similair to this one (sans the pool) when I was a child. It was great and the old lady who babysat was great, but there were few to little precautions put into place for incidents. My babysitters home had an open fenced driveway where we would often play and her driveway was right on bonanza road. All we had to do was walk 10-15 feet onto that busy road to get hit by heavy traffic. At 8 years old I realized how stupid it was and the dangers that were in place. I couldn't understand then, or now, how adults could not see them or chose to ignore them. It was/is stupidity at it's finest.

    You would think after 25+ years, improvements would be made, laws passed, occassional inspections would occur, etc. Obviously things haven't changed a bit since then. I loved being raised in a home-based daycare center, it was a great experience and one of the few positive experiences of my childhood, but if I ever have kids, it will not happen for them. The dangers at way too high still.

    Angelle: Sorry for your loss, it's terrible that this happened and the law did nothing to help prevent it. My condolences to both you and your family.


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    Edward wrote on January 14, 2009 04:35 PM: Angelle Dotch, I am sorry to hear that the infant was your cusin. I couldn't imagin the pain you and your family are going through. Marisela was irresponsable and I hope that justice comes to your family and that your young cusin's death will not be in vain. If there was a fence there, then someone didn't make sure that 2 young boys couldn't get through it. someone should pay for this, it should have never happend.


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    ANGELLE DOTCH wrote on January 14, 2009 09:37 AM: THE POOL IS FENCED AND THE DEAD INFANT IS MY YOUNGER COUSIN JORDAN WILLIAMS, I FEEL THAT MARISELA IS VERY IRRESPONSABLE TO LET SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN, SHE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN


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    Edward wrote on January 14, 2009 05:03 AM: j.c. first of all, my wife and I both work, we could take the cheap way and find a cheap baby sitter and my daughter will watch t.v. all day, but she is in a big day care. She has 3 teachers in her class and there are 9 classes there for different age groups. She gets homework and is in preschool, yes she is in better care then a baby sitter or a home pretending to be a day care. She is also an only child and she gets to interact with the other children in preschool. She loves her preschool and loves to learn, I'm sure that Marisela wasn't teaching her kids to prepair them for school and her home day care just opened in December and already there is a death.


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    Vicky S wrote on January 13, 2009 09:31 PM: Who licensed this home daycare? With a swimming pool? No fence? Freakin' unbelievable.


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    Obama wrote on January 13, 2009 07:32 PM: There goes their license.


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    jc wrote on January 13, 2009 07:31 PM: To Edward,

    In the business daycare your daughter is still being raised, day after day, by some $8/hr. burnout. Is she really that much better off than the kid that ended up in the pool? THink about it.


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